Drop hammer



T. C. COOKE DROP HAMMER Sept. 14, 1948.

Filed Jan. 25, 1947 INVENTOR- ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 14, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT] OFFICE w' 2,449,454." r f Dnor HAMMER Theodore C. Cooke, Swampscott, Mass. Application January 25, 1947, Serial No. 724,375 4 This invention relates to an improved drop hammer for use in quarrying, wrecking, and

breaking operations of various sorts wherein a hammer is dropped, lifted, and controlled by a hoisting cable hitched thereto.

The maintenance in connection with suchtools and their use heretofore hasbeen very costly in time and money with respect to the tool itself as well as the cable hitched thereto. This is particularly true because a drop hammer of any substantial size requires expensive heavy equipment including a power-operated derrick or boom under the control of a skilled and highly paid operator so that any loss of time due to the tool itself is particularly costly because of consequent loss of use of the equipment and the operators time. Efiorts have been made in the industry to improve drop hammer equipment in order to obviate and reduce such loss of time and money, but none of such efforts has aiforded a device having the advantages of the present invention as will appear from the following description to those skilled in the art.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section illustrating a typical hammer made in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the hammer illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the top portion of the hammer of Figs. 1 and 2 together with an elevation of the hoisting cable and hitch; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the hoisting cable and hitch with the hammer in a typical position at rest on the ground prior to hoisting the hammer therefrom.

Referring to the drawings illustrating a preferred form of the device in which like numerals represent like parts,

The hammer of this invention includes a central body portion of ordinary steel generally designated which, for example, may be of cylindrical or polygonal shape in cross section, but it here shown as octagonal. The central body ID has a bottom portion l2 with a working bottom face I4 and a corner edge [6 (which may be beveled) defining the periphery of the same. Though the bottom portion may be provided simply by the lower face of the central body itself, my invention contemplates a renewable bottom portion of the same material, or tough alloy steel of the same general cross-sectional form as the central body and which is held in direct face-toface abutting relation thereto by peripheral welding (arc or oxyacetylene) indicated at l8, so that 2 Claims. (Cl. air-291) the high compressive shock loads are transmitted directly from the bottom portion :0 the central body and without material stress so far as the welding is concerned which merely takes some shear and the lifting tensile stress. A new hot torn portion canbe readily supplied by simply cutting away the weld with a' torch and then welding the new one'in place. V The principal novel feature ofthe invention, however, concerns the novel provision for hitching the hoisting cable thereto through the means of a top portion having a transverse opening 20 extending between and connecting parallel longitudinal grooves 22. The grooves 22 are connected by convexly curved portions 24 to the exterior surface of the hammer, the top ends of the grooves likewise merging by convexly curved portions with the adjacent portion of the top surface of the hammer as shown in the drawings, particularly Figs. 1 and 2.

The top portion ofthe hammer also has a button 26 providing a convexly curved face between the upper ends of the groove 22, the purpose of which will be evident from Fig. 3, and particularly from Fig. 4 wherein the loop or bight 28 of the cable hitch is shown as contacting the button 26 when the hammer is at rest on the ground prior to being lifted by the hoisting cable 30 which may be conveniently connected to the loop 28 by any suitable means, for example, by clamps and transverse pin member generally designated 32.

From the figures of the drawings it will be seen that the bight or loop of the cable (whether wire rope or chain) is protected from destructive blows and sharp bends no matter in what position after each impact on the workthe hammer lands with respect to its own position or orientation to the derrick. In this way the life of the cable loop itself is very much prolonged and cables, (assuming adequate lubrication so that it renders easily through the transverse opening 20) will run for a matter of weeks in daily operation as compared with hoists as heretofore used, thus, as a practical matten-eliminating daily stoppages for cable-loop breakages. Moreover, even when any breakage occurs it takes but a matter of minutes to replace and clamp a new cable loop in place.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A drop hammer for quarrying and other breaking operations having a central body, a bottom portion with a working bottom face and a top portion having a smooth rounded transverse opening extending therethrough for the reception of a hoistin cable hitch, a pair of external parallel smooth grooves curving and gradually merging with the exterior surfaces of the hammer by convexly curved portions, said opening at either end thereof having convexly curved portions which gradually merge with said grooves to provide a smooth curving contacting surface for a hoisting cable hitch, said top portion having a substantially sphericailysurfaced bytton extending beyond said grooves providing, in cross section through said grooves, with said open portions of said grooves a substantially semicircular configuration.

2 In a drop hammer for quarrying and other breaking operations having a hoisting cable and hitch; said hammer having a central body, a, bottom portion with a Working tiottomface and a topportion having a smooth rounded transverse opening extending therethrough for the recepiQn 9 th h st n abl h tch. a pair 9? external paral el sm t 'reqv e ta 1s." and adually n ai i fw h x erio sur ecss 9f he h m: flier by conv x bu ed po tion sa d 019 mm. at either en reo 'havin onve curved bor- I 1w. mrsewitli'. said, grooves 2 .9 a am eba-"cur in qhi etin Sur ace forthe hoisting cable hitch said top portion hav- 1 an urtae butt UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date v v, 12; Benedict 6, 292,608 Withington Jan. 29, 1884 4455, 153 Bloomer Dec. 15, 1891 741,852 Thomson Oct. 20, 1903 863,635 Pope Aug. 20, 1907 QQQ LI B; Decker Jan. 11, 1910 1,085,861 Haughton Feb. 3, 1914 1129 95? ficott t Oct 2, 1,911 $14.4 13 4 an- 3Q .1923 rescue 1 Dec llii-li ifi' 2.29am mid-t n s9; %9

FOREIGN PATENIS umbe onnry 7 Date 42,1 6. Ne rlands Ja l-. 6; l9

extending beyond said grooves providing, in cross section through said grooves, with said open portions of said grooves a substantially semicircular REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record iii the il 9; t s p t -it: 

